Quoteables - Create in me a clean heart, O God.

This is a Psalms post.

If you haven't noticed by now, I love the book of Psalms. I absolutely love it. I could come up with endless posts on this book, and I even might (as you people seem to comment positively and ask for more!).I try and read my Bible everyday, and a couple Psalms are always in my readings. It is definitely the most read book in my Bible. It is marked up and the side margins are filled with my notes and thoughts (usually when it gets too marked up I buy a new translation and start again).

Today I want to talk about Psalm 51. I've actually done a post on this Psalm before but I am going to do another. It is just that good. I have been reading it each time I open my Bible, out loud, for ...around 3 months now...and I want to share a little about it with you.

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
   according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
   and cleanse me from my sin!
 ³ For I know my transgressions,
   and my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
   and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
   and blameless in your judgment.
⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
   and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
   and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
 ⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
 wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins,
   and blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
   and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence,
   and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
   and uphold me with a willing spirit.
 ¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
   and sinners will return to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
   O God of my salvation,
   and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
   and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
   you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
   a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
 ¹⁸ Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
¹⁹ then will you delight in right sacrifices,
   in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
   then bulls will be offered on your altar.

(That was The English Standard Translation. Click HERE for the text in The Message.)

Powerful right? What a picture of God's never ending mercy and unfailing love, even when we are ungrateful, wretched, rotten, habitually sinning messes.

But let me share something with you that will make this Psalm seem all the more powerful. It was written by King David, shortly after he made the 2 biggest mistakes of his life. This Psalm came out of a time he was crying out to God for much needed forgiveness, and God gave it to him!

(Quick background: David was king of Israel. He was a warrior and a worshiper. His army went out to battle, but he decided to be a bum of a leader and stay home and just let his mighty men defeat people for him. While he is sitting home his neighbor's-also one of his mighty men, named Uriah- wife decides she wants to take a bath. On the roof -yeah. Seriously?! Yes. Bathsheba bathes on roofs. Why? Anyway...Long story short, David finds Bathsheba, the roof-bathing wife of Uriah to be pretty good looking, so he decides to go and commit adultery with her while Uriah is out fighting. And oops, she gets pregnant. So David plans a cover up. He'll have Uriah come home on leave from battle, sleep with his wife, and everything will be fine! Nope. Doesn't work. Uriah is a noble man who will not leave his-actually DAVID'S- task; he stays on fighting beside his men. Uhoh. So instead David just sets up Uriah's murder. The King of Israel is now an adulterer and a murderer. A prophet comes and calls him out on his crap, and THEN David writes this Psalm. Wow. Context makes it seems even more amazing, yeah?)


People mess up.We're sinners. Sinners sin. King David, he messed up, BIG TIME.  David was a jacked up mess. But yet, God calls him "a man after His own heart." Jesus even came out of His family line and was called "The Son of David" in the New Testament. What??!!!! But David was a disaster! God, you are so amazing!

I mess up. No, I don't plan murders or commit any "big" sins, but guess what. Sin is sin. It is all the same in God's eyes. All of us are big, bad, unfaithful, sinning disasters, just like David, and everyone else who has ever lived or will live. I mess up every single day. I need forgiveness every single day. And if you're honest, you do to. Maybe you aren't off committing adultery or killing your friends, but you do things that are not pleasing in the eyes of God. You say things that don't please him. You think things that don't please him. You're a mess. Me too. That is why we are all so desperately in need of a Savior, like Jesus, and a loving, forgiving Father, like God.

 Along with this Psalm I always think of a song (as well as the Jon Foreman song in the last post about this Psalm) by The Almost (aka the fantastic Aaron Gillespie) called Amazing, Because it is. The song is a modified version of the classic Amazing Grace; I love it. Verse two and the chorus go like this:

"I'm the type of person who lets fear drive me,
I'm the type of guy that lets it drive.
Cause I'm addicted, I'm needy, I'm lost without you.
I need you, I need you.


Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, 
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found,
Was blind but now I see.
I just wanna see."



No matter how many times you and I mess up, now matter how "big" (or not so "big") it seems, God is always there to take us back again and wipe away our sins. We are LOST without him, but He is always there to make us clean again, no matter the size of the mess. And that just amazes me. People are a messy race. He is a holy God. And yet, through His Son's blood, he looks on us as pure and blameless. He makes us "as white as snow." He doesn't recall my sin. It is forgiven and forgotten.

Yours too, if you confess it to him and call on his mercy and grace.

If that doesn't totally blow you away you then...I don't know what will.

The Resident Comedian's Wonderful Story

My thirteen year old, cheese-hating, bi-going-on-tri-lingual sister who was recently adopted from Ethiopian likes to tell me stories.

She knows I appreciate stories and she tells me to write them down for her. Sometimes what she tells me is a (broken) English version of Ethiopian folk tale. Other times she just makes up nonsense. AND IT IS HYSTERICAL. 

Her English is choppy, but one of my secret talents is TOTALLY understanding accents/speech issues (Seriously. I could make money off this. After having been on many missions trips to foreign speaking countries, and having gone through 3 American adoptions where the kids come with massive, massive speech issues, I've gotten gooood. Ask my mom.) So she tells me things, I translate them to my family as closely as I can, and then I write them down to appease her (and so I can remember the wonderful things she comes up with).

Here is her "Wonderful Story" (yup. That's the title) that she came up with one night on our vacation. I wish I had it on video; it would be so much better if you could hear her (Her English is actually phenomneal for someone who has only been here 4 months.She is so intelligent, it is amazing. I mean, I understand EVERYTHING she says!) And I may have fixed the grammar, but she honestly came up with all of this herself!

Video or no video,you'll laugh, I promise. 

Simenesh’s Wonderful Story: 

A short tale from our Ethiopian Adoptee and Resident Partially English-Speaking Comedian.

Typed/Grammatically Enhanced by: Isabella Kiss, as told by her sister Simenesh during a picnic dinner

“I was raised by lions,” says Simenesh, totally straight faced and out of the blue. “There was no orphanage. I lived with lions, 5 lions, also 5 tigers, a zebra and some giraffes in a cave in Waliso. They did not eat me. They loved me. But I had no clothes, only leaves from trees. Pine needles, actually. I was naked. Unfortunately, the lions only ate cheese, for all the thirteen years I was there.” (Writer interrupts: “Simenesh, where did lions get cheese?” “Sea turtles, mate,” says Lacianna, the Hungarian sister.) “Nooo,” says the Ethiopian one, “They went and got the cheese in America, not Ethiopia. But I ate nothing, because I don’t eat cheese from America. Only Ethiopian cheese, the kind they put in the Gomen, which is good cheese.

                “Then one day I got on one of the giraffes and rode it to Addis Ababa to get some food. I also had a dream of Mama and Papa. Mama was naked and had no clothes. Papa was the size of 4 or 5 people… like that guy [Andre the Giant] in The Princess Bride! (Ummm…Nevermind. Okay, carry on.)  The police caught me though, and locked me up in their building. You cannot ride naked on a giraffe in the city; it’s bad. I was there with the police for 24 years. (Simenesh, you are only 13 years old…how does that work out?” “No, I am really 37, the tribal leaders were wrong. They Lied. I’m not 10, not 13, but 37.” “Oh, of course you are! You’ve also told me you are Japanese…just continue.”) I still had no food and no clothes. Eventually the lions came and rescued me. (“It took them 24 year to get to you?” “Yes.”) They brought me to the …tralalatratratrtttrr… house (“The transition house?” “Yes, that.”) where I met Susan (the adoption agency worker). I got some clothes finally and something to eat other than the cheese the lions would buy in America. Then Mama and Papa came and brought me to America. The lions were sad. And I still don’t like cheese.”

“Really, that is your story? Well, that is interesting and totally unlike everything we were told,” says the Writer.

“Yes, that is my story. You should write down that story, Bella.” says Simenesh “It is a wonderful story.”  Then she breaks into a spontaneous song about the wonder of the story she just wove for us.

Yup. Thats her story and she and I are sticking to it. My sister was raised by cheese consuming lions in an Ethiopian cave. We adopted her and we haven't gotten her to like cheese...yet.

The end.  

Vacation Memories 2010

Here are a couple of my favorite shots from my family vacation this past week in Westerly, Rhode Island.

My family, L to R: 2 year old sister, 7 year old brothers, 8 year old brother, 9 year old sister, 11 year old sister, 15 year old sister, (tall) 13 year old sister, __insert invisible me__, mom, dad.

Boats in the Harbor of Watch Hill

Sunset at Nappa Tree Point.

Farm stand

My 9 year old surfer sister.

My 13 year old sister and my mom.

Watch Hill's Lighthouse, artfully shot through a chain-link fence.

2 year old sister.

My parents

7 year old brother

Flying in the sunset.

Weird shading on top from the brim of my newsie hat.

Yeah. For real. There is a Chuck Norris somewhere in CT and he is running for probate judge. I'd vote for him!

Playing in the rain of "Hurricane" Earl

*mom's shot

Rebellion. Lets see you stop me, Mr. MFD Moderator!

*mom's shot.

Oh Little Darlin', do I have plans for YOU!

On the way home from vacation we stopped at a tag sale and I purchased what will be my next amazing project. This little darlin' here.

She looks like a piece of junk, right?

Well...yeah.She pretty much is. She's old, warped, dried out, smells musty, and is missing a chunk of the front.

It is okay. I only paid $1 for her. 

*(I also scored a Wilson's black leather jacket, that fits me perfect, for a dollar! My new favorite clothing item, just in time for fall!!!!)

But really, believe me, she has potential!

I am going to paint/decoupage her  into something beautiful. With a little love she will go from a junky little mini-dresser into the PERFECT (and artsy one-of-a-kind) home for all of my jewelry (which lives currently in our bathroom and takes up more space than I should have. 8 kids sharing one bathroom...5 of which are girls, ages 9-19. Yeah...).  And she'll look adorable in my room.


Ever since I saw a cute little dresser, much like this one, in Anthropologie that had been painted and covered in old sewing patterns, I wanted to make one of my own. I googled for some inspiration and found one of my new favorite blogs - Mod Podge Rocks! Who knew there were so many things you could (should!) use mod-podge to improve!!!!!!! Here are a couple pictures from the site of things with drawers...

Dresser, with paint an dictionary pages!

File cabinet, with fabric

Nightstands, with paint and scrapbooking paper.

Cool, huh? I haven't decided what color paint I will use (black? red? orange? green?), or what I will decoupage onto it...I'm thinking either newspaper or book pages? Maybe some black and white graphic-patterned scrapbook paper? What would you do?

This weekend I am going to hit up JoAnn's and buy some Mod Podge for wood and then begin my transformation. I'm so excited! I love redoing furniture! Pictures to come!

Stats? Love 'em.

Have you noticed the new blogger feature?  

STATS. 

 It is over on the far right of your dashboard, after design and monetize. Just magically appeared! I was hesitant to try it at first; I haven't so much loved all of the changes blogger has made (the whole Design thing messed up my layout and like...everything), and I already can already track who is visiting my blog with my Site Meter and ClustrMaps. But, as I am visual and organized person who likes to see things charted and graphed, I tried it and it is actually VERY cool. You can see who is visting your site, where they are coming from, what hour the day the came at, and more.Your visits are laid out on easy-to-follow graphs. You can see you total visits, monthly visits, or who is visiting at the very moment you check. Entry Pages, popular posts, how people find you, and even a little map of traffic! The whole deal! You should give it a try!

I've been messin' around with it and it has been interesting to see (all in one, easy page) who and what has been going on at my blog. It was also intriguing to find that my MOST viewed post is the one I posted the short story about vunerability. The House of Windows one? The second most viewed is an awkward picture of my best friend, her (my...) brother and I by a camp fire. Weird...



In other news, yes, I'm back from vacation. It was wonderful. I am still trying to sort through pictures (over a 1,000...) and post ideas, but eventually I'll update you. If you can't wait to see pictures of my trip, I put 150 up on my Flickr yesterday.

Amateur Photographer Isabella Kiss, aka "Mini Jeff"

I have a new nickname. It is Mini Jeff.

*Whuuuut??? Before you get too confused, let me explain.

Remember my Costa Rica trip? (*Say yes.) Do you remember how I was one of the photographers on the trip (*Yes again.) Do you recall mention of our AMAZING head photographer, Jeff Crandall? (*You should still be responding yes.) After the trip he pulled me aside and offered me something wonderful! He said he thought I had great potential as a photographer and he offered to take me on as an intern/apprentice/student of sorts! I get to be a Mini Jeff!

Now, if you knew Jeff, you'd know this was an honor. He is one of the greatest photographers in my state. He has done what he does for many years. His work is beautiful. And he wants to TEACH ME!!!!! 

He has let me borrow books and has given me assignments. He is letting me take a class with him. I am getting to do more and more photography with him at my church (big events and whatnot). He is going to take me to shoots, as well as to weddings!

I GET TO LEARN HANDS-ON WITH AN AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER!

I'm a little excited, if you can't tell. This is an amazing opportunity! I learn best when some one comes along side me, shows me how it is done, tells me what I am doing wrong or what small thing I might be doing right, and lets me work hard to improve. I don't do well with written instructions and I am not so great at just being told. But if someone can SHOW me and explain how things work, I catch on fast.

 *This is me showing my Youth Pastor (Not Jeff. Though Jeff did take this picture..) .how to do some basic things on a camera, in Costa Rica.

 I've realized I really like photography. Supposedly I have a good eye, but I really just like the creativity of it all. I thrive on the pursuit of artfulness. I don't have a *good* camera yet (my mom has been kind enough to share her Nikon D40 with me for the time being), but I'm saving up to get one. I am really pumped up to learn.

Due to all this exciting stuff, there will be a lot more photography posts on this blog. But, because I don't want to totally inundate you all with blogged pictures, I have also started up a flickr account. www.flickr.com/photos/isabellakiss

Check it out. Leave me comments. Let me know if you have flickrs and I'll do the same for you!

Autumn's Images.

I am obsessed with fall.

I know August has barely ended yet, but I am already excited. September and October are my favorite months of the year. I put up with the other 10 just to get to those 2. I have lived in New England my whole life and I don't think I could ever go anywhere that doesn't do fall like we do.


I love the cool air; something just feels fresher when you breathe in. I love sweaters and hoodies. I love hand-knit beanies. I love light-weight jackets and pants with hole-y knees. I love the colors, the bright, glowing reds and crisp, burnt oranges. I love sitting cozied into a blanket. Corn mazes. Apples that go crunch as your teeth first break their surface. I love pumpkin pie made from REAL pumpkin, not the kind that has been captured and packed into a can. I love fires bonfires and the sound of wood popping. I love the sound of a light breeze pulling leaves from the trees and bringly them slowly down to tickle the ground below. I love the noise feet make as they shuffle through the fallen leaves.

Fall is seriously the best thing ever.

So, I am beginning a series. Partly for photography skill building, but mostly for my huge love of autumn. I'm going to document what I see as a Isabella Kiss/New England fall. Starting now...

 There is something in this bucket that reminds me of fall.
And it is not a pumpkin, a corn maze, or a flannel shirt. I'll give you that...

Odd looking blueberries, you say?
No. Wrong.

These are wild grapes. They grow (yes, wildly, hence the name...) in my yard towards summer's end. Today my brothers loaded a bucket with them. I got really excited. I love them! (the grapes...well, my brothers too, but we are talking about grapes here.)

First off, you need to know I do not like regular grocery store grapes. They are squishy and nasty, in my opinion. But these are different. They are smaller. Dark purpley-blue. And are mighty tart, some more so than others. Inside are little seeds, which you could spit out, but I rather enjoy them; they make your tongue tingle.

I think my love of these sour little buggers goes back to my early childhood (just like most of what I love). I remember as a little kid...like 5 or younger... I was at grandmother's house a lot while my mom was working. In her backyard she had a bunch of wild grapes growing from a...it was like a canopy...A tent of grapes? My Hungarian grandfather had built it. My uncle, who was in college and living at home at that time, would put me on his shoulders so I could reach and we would pick the grapes. We put some of them in a container, but we ate most of what we picked. They were deliciously sour and tongue tingling.

Every time I pop a wild grape in my mouth, that is what I think of. And it is a fond, fallish memory.